Japan aiming for precision as it is about to land on the moon

Country looks to make pinpoint touchdown early Saturday to become the 5th nation on the moon

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FILE - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a payload including two lunar rovers from Japan and the United Arab Emirates, lifts off from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Dec. 11, 2022. But later in April 2023, the spacecraft from a Japanese company apparently crashed while attempting to land on the moon. Japan now hopes to make the world’s first “pinpoint landing” on the moon early Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, joining a modern push for lunar contact with roots in the Cold War-era space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

As Japan’s space agency prepares for its first moon landing early Saturday, it’s aiming to hit a very small target.

The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, is a lightweight spacecraft about the size of a passenger vehicle. It’s using “pinpoint landing” technology that promises far greater control than any previous moon landing.

While most previous probes have used landing zones about 10 kilometers (six miles) wide, SLIM is aiming at a target of just 100 meters (330 feet).

Japan aiming for precision as it is about to land on the moon

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